Christian Bale considers villain role in Spike Lee's Oldboy

Christian Bale is considering the part of the main villain in Spike Lee's version of Park Chan-wook's cult South Korean thriller, Oldboy, reports Variety. Lee's remake is one of a number of roles that Bale may take on in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises, supposedly his final turn as Batman, which is currently filming for a July 2012 release. As well as Oldboy, Bale is said to be considering the forthcoming remake of A Star is Born, starring Beyoncé, which Clint Eastwood is directing. He is also linked to Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic, Noah, and the Michael Mann film Gold, said to be a contemporary thriller in the vein of the classic 1948 John Huston tale The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which starred Humphrey Bogart as a prospector in 1920s Mexico. Bale has already signed on for the lead in an unnamed Terrence Malick film . Lee was confirmed for the Oldboy project in July . His version appears to be a straight remake of Park's celebrated film, rather than the update of the (rather different) original manga comic that had previously been planned by Steven Spielberg, who was attached to the project until November 2009. Spielberg had intended to cast Will Smith as the film's central protagonist, a businessman who is imprisoned for more than a decade by an unseen tormenter. Park's film – a violent revenge tale – is best known for its live-octopus-eating scene. It won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes film festival, as well as high praise from the president of the jury, Quentin Tarantino.